Our Turn

This weekend was our turn to have mom and dad and do some show-and-tell of Loma Linda and the surrounding area. Somehow we did so much and yet not once did we feel like we were over doing it or wearing ourselves out. We had SO much fun. It started Friday with a classic vegetarian lunch from the Patio Pantry at the University, then the girls went for a shopping spree while the guys toured Redlands University and Prospect Park. These pictures are a little out of sequence. This was from dinner on Saturday night at the Mission Inn. Best Italian in the area for sure!

Here's mom and I after dinner at Mission Inn

A view from the inside of the Mission Inn into the courtyard. This resort/hotel is amazing- it's like a castle from 17th century Spain- it would be so fun to stay here and play hide-and-seek. :) So many cool nooks, patios, courtyards and balconies.

Looking down into another courtyard at Mission Inn. After dinner we roamed around for a long time- every corner of the Inn has it's own character including a really neat roof-top herb garden. Mom and dad loved this place!

Mom and Dad outdside the Inn

Saturday we drove up to Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino mountains (about 40 miles from Loma Linda). It's about 20 degrees cooler up there any given day and the Lake Arrowhead village is a bavarian-themed village full of shops, restaurants and resorts. We also went into the Lake Arrowhead Resort which is a rustic luxury resort famous for for the many movies filmed there back in the 30's and 40's. It's beautiful up there and we feel like we're back in the Northwest, which is why I think we enjoy it so much.

Not too far from Lake Arrowhead Village is a fire lookout that we visited out of curiosity and it ended up being such a fun and educational experience. You are at the top of the mountain and on a clear day you can see all the way to the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. It was pretty hazy yesterday so we couldn't see the ocean- but you can still see 3 lakes and all the way down to Loma Linda.

On the fire lookout tower

Dad and I

Mom and I

A view from the boardwalk at Lake Arrowhead

Sunday we drove out to LA so mom and dad could go to church with us at Reality. What an encouraging morning- it's been several weeks since we've made it to church with all the business right now, but what a refresher to be at church this morning. Mom and dad really loved it and we felt really blessed just to be standing with our parents, worshipping and praising the Lord. God is so alive in LA! We came back to Loma Linda after that and went to the Drayson Center (the University's work out complex) for a bit to relax by the pool. We love the Drayson Center and wanted to share it with mom and dad since we are there so often to work out or swim in the pool on the really hot days. We had fun watching the diving board contest that seemed to be going on between about 10 guys that all were one-upping the other with what trick they would do when they jumped off the diving board.

Mom and dad just left a little bit ago- I'm a little sad they are gone already, but will look forward to seeing them for one more weekend when we get together next weekend for Patrice's birthday. I kind of forgot how much I miss my parents, having moved away from Spokane, but I know that God has strengthened and tightened even more the bond we have with our parents- all of them! Time spent with them now is always so priceless, genuine and quality. We are blessed so much by our parents!